Customer paying with qr code on smartphone screen NFC payment technology at coffee shop.
Argentina is the first market in Latin America where Bitso launches crypto payments through QR codes. This payment method will enable Bitso’s one million users in this country to pay their daily expenses from their apps at any merchant that accepts QR payments.
Bitso’s move with the new payment method comes in the country where this digital payment method has been adopted the most in Latin America: 59% of Argentines have used QR payments in the last year, compared to 34% on average in the region. According to a Payments Index study by Mastercard, 83% plan to pay with QR in the next year.
The arrival of the QR code as a form of payment on Bitso’s platform is part of the Mexican exchange’s strategy to “create crypto-based financial products that are useful in people’s daily lives,” said Santiago Alvarado, the company’s Senior Vice President of Product, in a press release.
This is how QR transactions will be made
To make a payment, the user can choose between Argentine pesos (ARS), USD stablecoins, Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), or DAI. If a cryptocurrency is chosen, Bitso automatically converts Argentine pesos with the best exchange rate and then makes the payment to the merchant. No charge applies if the payment is made directly with pesos, which must be over $100 Argentine pesos.
“The case of Argentina is extremely important because a product with these characteristics will help people protect themselves from the adverse conditions facing their economy, such as inflation and currency devaluation,” said Santiago Alvarado.
Argentina is the Latin American country where inflation has seen record numbers: experts from the country’s central bank estimate that it will close the year at 95%.
The QR code within the Bitso app can be used from September 27 in the country and will be progressively enabled to the million users they have.
In Argentina, the use of QR codes for crypto payments had already begun since TiendaCrypto launched its “API Commerce” in April 2022 for online and physical businesses to charge their customers with cryptocurrencies through a QR code.
Main image: Adobe Stock
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